A Ballarat-based food delivery company poised to take on international heavy hitters has applied for liquidation.
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Delivr, founded in Ballarat in 2017 by entrepreneur Alex Power, collapsed last week after an "incredibly hard 10 months".
The company sought to provide a local alternative to app-based food delivery companies, partnering with other Ballarat food outlets and other businesses to eventually provide takeaway food, groceries, liquor, and medicine.
It found great success during lockdowns, as more venues began offering delivery options.
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ASIC documents note the company wound up last week, with liquidators appointed.
Mr Power stated "sales have floundered", noting "(u)ntil recently we were the only profitable delivery startup in Australia - and possibly the world".
"We experienced a shortage of drivers for deliveries which drove our cost per delivery through the roof as we competed with the giants for the driver audience," he said in an email, adding the war in Ukraine and interest rate rises also affected consumer confidence.
In response to questions from The Courier, Mr Power said he was the only employee on the books.
"Tough market conditions pushed the operation to a point where it became unprofitable to operate - leading to liquidation. Our competitors are wildly unprofitable, but have raised (billions of dollars) to keep themselves rolling," he said in a statement.
"We had a small team managing Customer and Driver Support who were contracted through an Australian outsourcing company. Drivers were utilised as contractors as well.
"At our peak during COVID Delivr had around 200 drivers registered and active in Ballarat. Delivr had a database of 18,000 customers in Ballarat.
"Food delivery is here to stay - but it will need to change to stay around for the long haul."
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A media release from Delivr in 2020 stated the company had ambitions to expand beyond Ballarat to other regional cities, while noting it only charged an 18 per cent commission to food outlets.
This is "half" of what major delivery businesses charge, the company claimed.
It's not known how many employees or delivery drivers will be affected by the closure, nor how much investors are owed.
As of Monday - on Android - the main delivery app had more than 1000 downloads, and more than 100 had downloaded the driver app.
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